The authors used their knowledge of the subject and an extensive amount of articles and publications they referenced in order to create a summary of the subject and where it is moving toward.
The authors reference main research articles and books written about the subject from the past.
They also reference epidemiological and sociological studies in supporting their mental health arguements.
Other health references, such as the DSM and Indexes are referenced in the article.
Substance abuse post-disaster
Comorbidity of mental disorders
Post-disaster social support systems
"At this point, the burden of mental disorders after disasters has been well documented, and interest in the course of trajectory of psychological symptoms following disasters is growing."
"Persons who live in a community where a disaster hsa occured may differ in their degree of exposure in the event. They may be affected directly, being present at the disaster site, or indirectly, having loved ones present at the disaster site or seeing images of the disaster in the media."
"Ongoing stressors such as job loss, property damage, marital stress, physical health conditions related to the disaster, and displacement are often experienced by those affected by the disaster... Low levels of and reductions in social support are also associated iwth post-disaster psychological symptoms."
The bibliography is organized into subcategories, such as 'Health Services' and 'Social Environment and Behavior', suggesting a heavily multi-disciplinary approach. It is also quite long for a 12 page article, due to the summary style that the article intended, suggesting a thorough knowledge of the subject.
The understanding of disasters and their relation to global mental health, both to those who suffered directly from then and to those who were part of the greater community of those who suffered, is constantly evolving. Analyzation of past research and the current methods of study allow the global community to effectively understand and treat mental health on a large scale.
According to google scholar this article has been cited 45 times. Some articles include:
"Medically unexplained physical symptoms in the aftermath of disasters"
"Postdisaster health effects..."
"Mental and social health in disasters..."
Emily Goldmann is a PhD and MPH (Master of Public Health) at the College of Global Public Health. She focuses on environmental and social causes of mental health and their consequences. While she doesn't focus on disasters, her studies intersect with those in which we are interested in: Global Health and causes of mental health disorders.
Sandro Galea is a physician and epidemiologist at Boston School of Public Health. He has a long list of other positions of research at other colleges as well. He focuses on how the social aspects of a community create mental disorders, particularly urban communities where mood-anxiety and substance abuse disorders are common. He has a particular focus also upon mass-trauma and disasters and how they affect the mental health of the world long term, such as 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. He studies precisely what is relevant to the DSTS Network in these cases, where he looks at the mental health consequences instead of the physical consequences of these disasters.
The article talks about emergency responders and how debriefing was critical in maintaining mental health for them and other sufferers of trauma.